She grew up in Helmshore in Rossendale Valley in Lancashire,[3] and attended All Saints' Catholic High School in Rawtenstall,[4] before spending two months on a Business Access to Higher Education course at a college in Bury in Greater Manchester.

Growing up, she idolised Beyoncé and Destiny's Child, and regularly attended their concerts; she also looked up to Mel B, as a successful Northerner.

[3] In 2007, after Xenomania decided to form a band in response to Girls Aloud taking a year off,[5] they contacted Connolly via her Myspace account, prompting her to attend an audition in London, where she met Britt Love, a singer from Newcastle upon Tyne, who she bonded with over their shared Northern roots.

[11] They announced their split in November 2010;[12] Connolly later formed M.O in 2012 with Nadine Samuels and Annie Ashcroft of the girl group Duchess,[13] taking their name from a lyric in "The Motto" by Drake.

[14] Between 2014 and 2016, the band supported Little Mix on their Salute Tour[15] and entered the UK Singles Chart at numbers 49, 51, and 18 with "Dance On My Own", "Preach" and "Who Do You Think Of?